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Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Orzo and Rice Pilaf with Pignoli and Parmesan Cheese

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This is an old family favorite that we love to serve with grilled or roast meat. It is our version of a commercial rice product that was quite popular years ago. Appetites are hardy in our family and it reached a point where the prepared mix cost nearly as much as the meat it was supposed to accompany. That didn't compute, so we came up with our own rice mix. Pilaf is one of those dishes that spans cultures and geographical regions. A more thorough examination of its rootless nature can be found here. This recipe is quite simple and if your family enjoys rice-based dishes I think they'll like this one. The cheese topping is optional but it is a very nice addition that you probably will want to try. The recipe can easily be doubled. Here's how it's made.

Mary, this is one of my favorite dishes in the whole world!! My mother-in-law has been making a similar dish for years...I actually thought she made up the recipe, as she is not a cookbook person and usually makes up her own recipes. I love it so much that she always calls it "Patti's rice." Now my kids call it "your rice." Can we have "your rice" for dinner? Of course, with pine nuts close to $20 a pound, we are very sparing with them.

What my MIL did to this dish that makes it different from yours, besides chicken bouillion cubes and water instead of actual chicken broth, was to add some shredded iceberg lettuce. Sounds strange, I know, but it is wonderful.

Mary, we always laughed as children hearing "the San Francisco treat!"- to us rice and orzo are Italian staples! I do sometimes "toast" the rice a bit before adding the orzo and brth. This is a wonderful side dish!xoxo Pattie

Its amazing how much they can charge for those boxed mixes...when you can make something so much lovelier and cheaper at home! This sounds delicious, and I love anything that requires a sprinkle of parmesan cheese!

Wonderful looking pilaf, simple, with the best ingredients. PIne nuts have become a little scarce around here, and quite pricey--I've got to watch and wait. In the meantime, other nuts or seeds would make a tasty substitute.

In Switzerland the pine nuts would kill us, or at least empty our wallets. There's lots of them in your dish. Delicous, indeed. The recipe sounds like ris-orz-otto kind of, only that we add white wine first, and then the broth little by little, and we stir continiously until al dente, probably to get it creamy.

I love rice in nearly any form, but the flavorful dishes are wonderful-pilaf chief among them. This sounds like a very tasty variation. Since my husband doesn't eat rice, I'll use this as a 'covered dish' for work and family. Thanks for the post-and I'm really looking forward to making this!

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